People with eating disorders experience significant alterations in their relationships with food. For example, individuals with anorexia nervosa restrict their food intake and individuals with bulimia nervosa experience episodes of binge eating followed by efforts to avoid gaining weight, including vomiting or excessive exercise. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and family-based therapy (FBT) are both evidence-based treatments for eating disorders.
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restriction of energy intake leading to weight that is less than minimally normal or expected in the context of age, sex, developmental trajectory, and physical health;
an intense fear of gaining weight, an intrusive dread of fatness, or persistent behavior that interferes with weight gain;
disturbed perception of one’s body weight (e.g., a self-perception of being too fat);
self-evaluation is unduly influenced by body weight or shape;
a persistent lack of insight regarding the seriousness of low body weight;
endocrine disorder resulting in amenorrhea or loss of sexual interest or potency.
recurrent episodes of binge eating (overeating) where excessively large amounts of food are consumed in a discrete period of time;
a feeling of lack of self-control over eating during a binge-eating episode;
recurrent behaviors to counteract weight gain such as self-induced vomiting, purging, fasting, use of drugs, diuretics, or excessive exercise;
self-evaluation is unduly influenced by body weight or shape;
a self-perception of being too fat and an intrusive dread of fatness.
psychological models of eating disorders including anorexia and bulimia
information handouts for eating disorders including anorexia and bulimia
exercises for eating disorders including anorexia and bulimia
CBT worksheets for eating disorders including anorexia and bulimia
self-help programs for eating disorders including anorexia and bulimia
Couturier, J., Kimber, M., & Szatmari, P. (2013). Efficacy of family‐based treatment for adolescents with eating disorders: A systematic review and meta‐analysis. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 46(1), 3–11.
Fairburn, C. G., Cooper, Z., & Shafran, R. (2003). Cognitive behaviourtherapy for eating disorders: A ‘transdiagnostic’ theory and treatment. BehaviourResearch and Therapy, 41(5), 509–528.
Lock, J., & le Grange, D. (2005). Family‐based treatment of eating disorders. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 37(S1), S64–S67.